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Question about potentiometers

Yorin

Yorin

Apr 29, 2015
27
6
33
#1
Not sure if this is the right sub but okay.

I've recently upgraded the pups in my squier jazz bass and it sounds fantastic. However i didn't upgrade the pots. After the job was done people started recommending to also upgrade the pots.

If i understand it correctly. Lower resistance pots have a higher frequency peak. But does it really matter that much for a bassguitar? Should i still upgrade my pots or should stock be fine considering i'll have to pay someone to install them. If i should get new ones, on what kind of specifications should i look for? (Not asking for recommendations here, altough it could help)

Thanks in advance :)
 
#4
Well that's the thing. I don't even know exactly what difference it COULD make. Let alone if it would be worth it.

line6man said:
There is no reason to "upgrade" pots unless either there is a problem with the current pots, or you are trying to change the value or taper. Don't buy into marketing hype. You will not gain anything from upgrades.
Click to expand...
 
#5
Yorin said:
Well that's the thing. I don't even know exactly what difference it COULD make. Let alone if it would be worth it.
Click to expand...

If you use the same pots, there wont be any difference. If you change the value, there will be slightly more, or slightly less treble, but it would be nothing to write home about. If you change the taper, the sweep of the pot could get a little better or a little worse, but it won't have any effect on the tone.
 
#6
line6man said:
If you use the same pots, there wont be any difference. If you change the value, there will be slightly more, or slightly less treble, but it would be nothing to write home about. If you change the taper, the sweep of the pot could get a little better or a little worse, but it won't have any effect on the tone.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your response. I'm confused why people would recommend changing pots with new pups.. But there's a lot of weird information on the internet.
 
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#7
The only reason I can think of for replacing working cheap pots when doing a pickup swap is that decent pots are probably less likely to fail, so while the thing is open, you can cheaply hedge against a future failure. That said, pots seem to usually get scratchy rather than failing outright
 
#8
Yorin said:
If i understand it correctly. Lower resistance pots have a higher frequency peak.
Click to expand...
it's the opposite, higher resistance pots create the bigger peak (and a brighter sound), because they take away less signal from the pickup.

250k is "normal" for fender style pickups, 500k will make the bass a little brighter.
 

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